The sunshine in early summer is already a bit warm, and the moist wind blows by the Haltokan Lake, and it seems that the breath of the midsummer rainy season can already be smelled.
Shulot followed his father, and his father followed his grandfather. The high priest stood at the front, dressed in formal sacrificial attire. Nobles and priests gathered around, with bright feathers connected together, and they were covered in gold and silver. Everyone was there.
Put on the most formal, colorful and heaviest clothes and wait for the king's army outside the south gate of the city-state.
Shulot was also forced to wear a priest's crown with blue feathers. The long feathers drew an elegant arc on his head, making him half a meter taller out of thin air.
If it is a warrior's crest, the feathers can be stuck upside down and hang down behind the back to facilitate fighting. Fortunately, this feather crest was specially chosen by him. It is relatively simple, not inlaid with gold, silver or gems, and the weight is acceptable. The feathers around it are poking
It felt itchy on his face. He quickly left the crowd, came to the edge and sneezed.
"What is the use of these feathers? It looks like a bird when worn on the head."
Shulot lowered his voice and complained in a low voice with some dissatisfaction. Speaking of which, it was mentioned in previous history books that the native Americans could not understand why the colonists loved only shiny gold and silver but did not pay attention to the more precious feathers.
"Feathers are gifts given by the gods, and they are also tributes that the gods love. The more gorgeous and slender the feathers are, the more they are a symbol of nobility and holiness."
Akap appeared from the side again with a smile and told the opinions of the priests and nobles.
"It is said that the twin brother of Shulotel, the god of death, Quetzalcoatl, the Quetzalcoatl god, has the most beautiful feathers in the world! He uses the feathers to control the hurricane, drive the huge snake body, fly into the waters of the east, and sleep in the
The east where the sun rises. One day, He will wake up and return from the waters of the East to bring peace and prosperity to the world!"
"Ah? Quetzalcoatl is a flying feathered serpent?"
Hearing this, Shulot was shocked and asked curiously.
"This is the conclusion drawn by the priests of the Holy City from the ancient murals in the Holy City of Teotihuacan."
Akapu pondered for a moment and said softly.
"But in the murals of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, Quetzalcoatl has a human image. He is tall, white-skinned, and bearded. He was defeated and exiled by other gods, and sailed to the mysterious world on a snake raft.
Eastern Traparan, and make a promise to return!"
"Damn it! God damn white-skinned bearded man."
Hearing such a myth, Hulot expressed strong dissatisfaction. One day in the future, the Spanish colonist Hernan Cortez will use this myth to successfully win over the first batch of Totonac people to lead the party.
and established leadership over the Tlaxcala Servants.
Then, on the day when Quetzalcoatl promised to return, he pretended to be Quetzalcoatl and was introduced to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the empire, by Montezuma II with the etiquette of worshiping the god. He tricked and captured Montezuma II, and he
He massacred Mexica priests and nobles in the temple, destroying the center of imperial rule in one fell swoop. Finally, he deliberately left countless clothes and blankets contaminated with smallpox virus, and escaped from the Mexica attack during the "Night of Sorrow"
And go.
Smallpox spread rapidly in the densely populated lake capital. The Mexicans were unprepared and lost the powerful organization to deal with the epidemic. This terrible plague could no longer be controlled, directly destroying the core ruling groups of the empire and wiping out
80% of the population.
The city-state alliance was immediately disintegrated, leaving it leaderless and split into more than a dozen states. Two years later, the chaotic lake capital was captured by the conquistadors and Tlaxcala servants during the second siege, announcing the birth of Azteca.
The death of civilization.
Next came Tarasco, the Miztecs, the Zapotecs, the Otomi, the Mayans, and all of Mesoamerica! The returning "Quetzalcoatl" only brought endless death, killing and destruction
!
"Disease, myth, army of servants, cavalry, warships."
Shulot counted his fingers and estimated the colonists' advantages in order of importance.
"These are the five weapons for the colonists to conquer the New World! Let's do it one by one, first eliminate the potential servant army, and then carry out the religious reform! As for diseases, there is a long way to go, starting with smallpox... Well, smallpox, cowpox, no
Cow, then use the ancient Chinese method of variolation..."
Shulot looked serious, and fell into an ideal that was beyond his current ability. Such "change of destiny" requires the support of the supreme power and hundreds of thousands or millions of manpower. Until Akapu patted him
shoulder, reminded.
"Xulot, look to the south!"
Hearing this, Shulot opened his eyes wide and looked to the south. A magnificent army appeared at the end of his field of vision! Crowds of people filled the sky, and the red robes were dyed through the clouds. It was the color of cochineal insects and belonged to the royal city.
Dye tribute, more valuable than gold in the Old World, was the rouge of later generations. After waiting for a full month, Shulot finally saw the imperial army!
King Tisoke first started mobilizing in the three cities of the capital. He recruited ten Hikipili, or 80,000 warriors and militiamen, and gathered them into a powerful royal army. There were more than 40,000 royal warriors in the army.
There are also two thousand Jaguars and Eagles! This is an army that no Central American city-state can confront head-on.
The surging army proclaimed the majesty of the new king and suppressed the hearts of all states. They first traveled westward for a week, intimidating Tarasco and other western cities, and gathering the coalition forces of all states.
Tepanicapan's army joined first, followed by Tolocan and Lachico, five regiments of 8,000 men, and then 40,000 warriors and militiamen. Then the army turned southeast for ten days and passed through Cuonahuac.
and Vactepec, adding two more regiments of eight thousand men.
After touring the southeastern part of the Mexica Alliance, the army stayed for two days, met with the leader of the Chongtar people, threatened the southern border of the Tlaxcala people, and startled a wave of fleeing villagers. Finally, the army turned north
, marched for a week, and pulled out three more 8,000-man regiments from the wealthy Sarco State, more than 20,000 people, mainly militiamen responsible for logistics. Among the armies of these city-states who joined one after another, the proportion of warriors was slightly lower, about
Less than two-fifths.
Then, twenty legions and a force of 160,000 people came all the way north, covering the sky and the sun! After patrolling for nearly a month, the army finally arrived, and it was only three days away from the capital in a straight line.
The holy city of Teotihuacan. And among the king’s army, there were actually more than 70,000 warriors who were good at fighting! This was a force that could intimidate the entire Mexica tribes and the entire Central American world!
"...The state of the country is mai, and the son of Haotian is, in fact, there is Zhou in the right order. The thin words shake it, and it is all overlapping."
Shulot opened his eyes wide and looked at the magnificent army that was gradually approaching and filling his entire field of vision. His mind was shaken and he couldn't help but sigh lowly.
"What a spectacular army! Even though it is only at the level of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, its momentum has already shaken the sky... A real man should be like this!..."
"Xulot, what are you talking about?"
Akapu's eyes flashed and he spoke curiously.
"Well, I said I was shocked and yearned for seeing the king's army..."
Shulot tilted his head slightly and changed the topic.
"The king's march is so slow. It seems that he is not in a hurry to attack the Otomi people, but is mainly visiting various cities to declare the majesty of the new king!"
"Yes, you are right!"
Acap smiled and hugged Hulot's shoulders.
"In this world, every city-state is a descendant of the gods, and they can independently decide things within a radius of dozens of miles. Although the king is the leader of the alliance, he cannot directly command the military and administration of each city-state, or even completely control the great nobles in the capital.
To make the city-states obey, we must rely on the military power of the capital, the prestige of the monarch, and the blood relationship of our royal family in the Holy City!"
"So when the new king takes the throne, the first thing he needs to do is to establish prestige in the hearts of the leaders of the city-states in the alliance! He needs to assemble a large army, patrol the states, meet with tributes, and also deter possible enemies at home and abroad. And to attack the enemies,
Sacrificing it to the gods is the last and most important step in the ceremony! If this step is spectacular, it can convince the nobles and warriors of all sizes!"
"This is killing a turkey to scare a bunch of monkeys!"
After thinking about it for a moment, Shulot thought of a familiar idiom.
"Turkey, monkey?"
Hearing this, Akapu was stunned, and then laughed loudly.
"Haha! This metaphor is so interesting! Shulot, you have a very high vision..."
Then, Acap lowered his voice, looked around, and then chuckled softly.
"If the leaders of the city-states are compared to monkeys, then the king who occupies the capital in the lake is the monkey king! Only when the monkey king is strong enough can he command the nearby monkeys to hand over the fruits in their hands!"
"So...if a monkey runs too far, it becomes a wild monkey, or a group of wild monkeys. For monkeys in such a far distance, the monkey king has to beat them from time to time so that they can hand over the fruit on time?
"
"Yes! The farther away the tribe is from the royal capital, the easier it is to rebel... However, the Otomi people are not monkeys of our tribe, nor are they stupid turkeys. They are cunning local dogs... Once they see the situation, they will lose their temper.
Miao, he will hide himself in the cave!"
The two young men lowered their voices and discussed topics that should not be discussed with ambition. While they were talking, the vanguard of the army had already rushed towards them! A total of four warrior groups of 8,000 people marched through the southern road one after another, and then
Camp by Lake Haltokan.
More than 30,000 warriors of all levels are gathered together like this! At a glance, red and black pointed hats and yellow beast helmets are swaying, and obsidian war clubs reflect the sea of light. The camp is full of people, eager and confident.
His face, infected by the power of the group, was at the peak of morale.
On the lake, thousands of canoes carrying food came all the way from the Texcoco Lake area in the capital. Ten years of food stocks were unloaded and the troops were supplied through convenient waterways.
Then, an entire legion of senior warriors lined up in the neatest formation Shulot had ever seen in his life, and approached silently. All of them were wearing refined leather armor and carrying obsidian spears. There were a thousand Jaguar warriors and a thousand
There are 6,000 eagle warriors and 6,000 fourth-level senior warriors! They don’t need words. Their relaxed and ready-to-fight attitude can prove to everyone that this is the core strength of the empire!
Seeing this scene, Shulot and Akapu both closed their mouths and became silent. In the face of absolute power, no words, no matter how fearless, are weak. The burly Shusok stepped over in two steps and pulled
Shulot pulled back the team. It was obvious that the king would not be too far away from his core force, and he would appear soon. Shulot noticed keenly that his father Shusoke's body was also upright and solemn, and he was obviously nervous.
.
Behind the most powerful legion in Central America, the royal chariot of King Tisoc of Mexica walked calmly, escorted by five hundred "hair-breakers". These praetorian warriors, who resembled the Huns, were all shaved
Most of the hair is left only on the top of the skull and a handful on the left and right. Each of them wears green thick cotton armor and a mesh cloak on their back. There is also a back flag symbolizing their identity on the cloak, with the sun god painted on it.
abstract logo.
Shulot lowered his head and did not look at the guards. These last warriors guarding the king had a solemn and indifferent expression, and their combat effectiveness was very strong at first glance.
Unfortunately, there is no suitable camel beast in the entire America at this time, and there is no way to rely on ox-carts, horse-drawn carriages, or elephant carts. Tisoke, the bloodline of the main god, can only sit on a shoulder cart carried by dozens of people.
He wears a white robe with red stripes and a white skull-shaped helmet. The helmet also has long green feathers, which looks particularly eye-catching. This gorgeous image is taken from the powerful evil spirit in ancient mythology.
Behind the king's carriage, there was also a row of feathered flags. The flags were flying high and eye-catching. On the flags, there were various complex hieroglyphics painted on them, like pictures. Hulot was carefully identifying them.
Looking at the sun, cacti, eagles, snakes, lakes and giants above, I saw a king's messenger coming in a hurry.
"The supreme sun god, god of war, descendant of the patron saint Huitzilopochtli, the controller of the city of Tenochtitlan in the lake, the great and glorious Tlato Anitisoc, will be the same as the current
Meet the blood relatives, the administrator of the ancient holy city of Teotihuacan, and the high priest Shuter!"
